Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Writer: Shaun Simon
Artists: Tyler Jenkins
Cover artist: Conor Nolan
Colourist: Kelly Fitzpatrick
Release date: May 6, 2015
Price: $3.99

After a boy dies his imaginary friend consumes as an aid to move into the real world, in search of that enthral thing a “normal life”. However, agents from the imaginary friends universe are out to put a stop to those plans and drag him back into the universe he’s trying to escape from. This is the conceit of Dark Horse’s Neverboy. Think Naked Lunch meets Alice in Wonderland.

Neverboy is not a soulless exercise either, themes arise throughout, including parenting, marriage problems, loneliness and abandonment, art inspiration and, interestingly, difficulties encountered in scoring drugs.

Simon’s script packs real emotional punch, but is perhaps best when the absurd to take center stage. Notable is a nonsense-spouting gypsy woman. “A closed mouth gathers no feet,” she says while acting as a substitute marriage counsellor. Happy couples all round.

Jenkins’ art is reminiscent of Joe Staton’s 1970’s work at Charlton, but not as tight. Jenkins seems to be allergic to backgrounds too. The coloring by Fitzpatrick is flat, lacking contours, even when depicting the imaginary world bleeding through to reality. A more considered approach to the coloring in those scenes would make the contrast between worlds much more dramatic.    For an ongoing series, Neverboy feels like a mini-series making the story difficult to follow without reading the previous issues. There’s nothing wrong with that, but buyer beware.

And then again, Neverboy seems to have enough substance to imbue a sense of wonder as to where it will go next.

Reviewer: Joe Lovece
Review Editor: Steve Hooker